Blogs from Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium, Europe - page 60

Brussels was definitely an interesting weekend, and I think it accelerated the desire to return to Chicago. More on that in a sec . . . This was the first, and not the last, that I was all by myself (cue Eric Carmen). Alli & Andrew were off to a skiing trip in the Alps (about that, it’s the warmest there in 1,300 years), Katie booked herself a trip to Paris to see family friends, and Melissa decided to stick it out in Nantes. I wasn’t too worried about being alone, I’ve had enough time with maps and my trusty little compass to figure out where to go. And unlike previous excursions, I mapped out exactly where my hostel was. No wandering this time. The trip was quick, about 5 hours on the train (seriously, 4-hr ... read more

Hokay... so, let me just say that Brussels was the sweetest little city ever. I was bummed at first about having to make a pit stop there and shorten my stay in Amsterdam, but after the fact that is most certainly not the case. I saw a lot of cool things there such as the colonne congres, with the tomb of the unknown soldier from wwII and the eternal flame. Also I walked through the parc de bruxelles, which was gorgeous with all the foliage changing colors. Then I made it to the Palais Royal, which doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose apart from pure awesomeness. Also of note were the grand place and the musical instrument museum, from which we saw quite an amazing sunset. The hostel I stayed at was almost as ... read more

"Beer is our local culture. Support the culture." Beer is not just a drink in Europe, its a way of life. Europeans are actually required to drink a minimum of three beers a day here. It is custom is to imbibe at least one drink before dinner (in conjunction with the oft-heard phrase, "meet me for drinks in the conservatory at 7), as well as partake in a drink during dinner, and finish with a sweet port or go for "after dinner drinks" later in the evening. This is a massive problem for someone who hates the taste of beer. However, there are ways around this. We had just arrived in Brugge and went down to visit the hostel pub. Adam and I chatted about what to see in the city when the guy next ... read more

Brussels wasn't that great for me...other than the large selection of beer and chocolates. The city is just like any other city and it seemed pretty dirty. The center town square was pretty, but that was about all. The chocolates and waffels were definately the highlight. ... read more

Herkese selammmm! dedim ki madem bu memlekete öğrenime geldim, bi faydasını görelim, brüksel'de bi seminere yazıldım. 2 günlük bir seminer. konusu "avrupa sınırları ve güvenliği". sizlere çok uzun anlatmıcam ama bazı ilginç tespitlerimi aktarmak istedim:) 1. Brüksel'e gelince "avrupa başkenti" sloganının İ.Melih Gökçek imzalı "ankara, avrupa başkenti" billboard'larından farklı olduğunu anlıyosunuz. biraz fark var, şehircilik konularına girmiyim, üzülürüz:) 2. Seminerde (hatta genel olarak son bir ayda) dikkatimi çekti; türkler olarak tartışma (debate) olayını bilmiyoruz malesef. Bizim tarzımız biraz "kahvehane" tarzı. bu nedenle çoğu zaman kaybediyoruz masada. Yabancı (eğitimli, hem de güncel bilgi okuyan) ve daha çok avrupalılar, öyle yabana atılacak gibi değiller. Genelde konulara hakimler ve oturaklı tartışıyolar. yani sen derdini anlatamıyosan golleri yiyosun. Hatta adam cahil ols... read more